The present invention is directed to an open headed medical implant and, in particular, to a closure for closing the head of an open headed bone screw, hook or the like.
Bone screws are used especially in spinal surgery to support and position various implants needed to repair a spine that has suffered injury, illness or genetic defect. Bone screws of this type are screwed into the vertebrae of the spine and have a head that projects outside the bone which receives other implants, such as rods, that extend along the spine. Bone screws are of two general types which are either open headed or closed headed. Hooks and certain other implants also sometimes have open heads. The present application is directed to open headed bone screws and related implants such as hooks and the like that have such an open head to receive another implant.
In open headed bone screws and related implants, the head includes two upright arms that form a channel therebetween. The channel is sized to receive a rod or the like and is open to make it easier to place the rod in the head. The rod must then be tightly held or locked in the head to prevent relative movement between implants after the surgery. To hold the rod in the head, plugs have been used that are screwed into threads on the interior surfaces of the arms.
The present invention is directed especially to improvements in such plugs or closures that make them easier to insert in the head, that better ensure that the plug effectively secures the rod so that the rod does not later slip, that allow the plugs to be easily removed should the overall implant system require rearrangement and which provide a comparatively low profile, so as reduce trauma and irritation to the surrounding tissues of the patient.